New 'World Class' course for North Scotland....

[Fish]

A new top quaity 'world class' course has been given the green light to be built in northern Scotland.

http://www.bunkered.co.uk/golf-news/coul-links-given-green-light-by-councillors

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I don't know the area at all. Is there sufficient people to support it?

Claims of a world class course are very grand. Good luck to them, I hope they have a few quid to put into it.

 

[patricks148]

personally i doubt it will bring any economical benefit to the area. Most of the visitors come to the area to play Royal Dornoch and they may play a few of the other locals courses, with one more course being built it will have a knock on effect on the smaller local clubs already struggling to survive and a new course further dilutes the visitor revenue of these clubs.

And lets face it like Trump and Castle Stuart it will be a foreign company doing the construction and once built a handful of support staff will work during the season. Castle Stuart is struggling and is even up for sale, i don't know if they have even had any interest.

Ive also heard its going to be a private course anyway

The Highland council are notorious for supporting projects that make little economic sense, no doubt there have been a few back handers as usual.

SEPA withdrawing its objection is a strange one as is SNH and the RSPB who all said it would destroy the area for certain species

 

[Deleted member 15344]

So another course close to Dornoch - I suspect it will be looking to flood the place with American tourist golfers like a lot of the places in the area. Scotland golf is suffering in terms of locals playing golf with a fall in members but there are still a lot of Yank Tourists happy to play over the top fees to play so that’s what the club will survive on if built

 

[Deleted member 16999]

If it helps the local economy, employs local people etc, good on them, hope it’s a success.

 

[IanM]

So another course close to Dornoch - I suspect it will be looking to flood the place with American tourist golfers like a lot of the places in the area.

...then charging £200 for a £75 (or is it £45?) course.....bit of a theme in Scotland and Ireland.... let's hope they stay away from Wales!

 

[Garush34]

I don't know the area at all. Is there sufficient people to support it?

Claims of a world class course are very grand. Good luck to them, I hope they have a few quid to put into it.

They certainly have the money to put into it. Mike Keiser is one of the guys behind it and he has brought Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley to the world of golf and they have been really successful to date.

Personally I can only see this as a good thing for Scottish golf, as it will bring people to play and just adds to the wealth of course we already have.

 

[KenL]

Yet another course that local people can't afford to play! No thanks.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Yet another course that local people can't afford to play! No thanks.

I think the Scots and the Irish get a better deal than the English or Welsh. A lot of the top courses have a preferred rate for natives whereas if I want to play Trump/Kingsbarns/RCD etc I have to fork out for flights, hotels, car hire, petrol etc and then pay full whack on top of everything else. You don't get those concessions in England or Wales as far as I know.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Yet another course that local people can't afford to play! No thanks.

What about the local people who may benefit via employment or local business’s from supplying goods and services?

 

[Garush34]

Yet another course that local people can't afford to play! No thanks.

As with other courses and resorts that Keiser has built, I would imagine that there would be reduced fees for locals, Bandon Dunes and Cabot Links as two examples:

https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/2018-green-fees
https://www.cabotlinks.com/golf/rates/

 

[Jacko_G]

Yet another course that local people can't afford to play! No thanks.

Just bitter nonsense. This coming from a man who disliked others having a go at another course.

Laughable.

 

[KenL]

What about the local people who may benefit via employment or local business’s from supplying goods and services?

They could build a course that didn't cost £200 or £300 to play. That way they would get far more customers with increased benefit to the local community.

 

[KenL]

Just bitter nonsense. This coming from a man who disliked others having a go at another course.

Laughable.

Aye right ;-)

 

[Deleted member 16999]

They could build a course that didn't cost £200 or £300 to play. That way they would get far more customers with increased benefit to the local community.

How do you know that? Surely new customers is new money, locals are not going to use local taxis, hotels, restaraunts etc when they play the course

 

[KenL]

I am a member of the RSPB and funnily enough have just this minute received an email asking me to support this course not going ahead. Apparently the local council have approved it despite 1800 objections being lodged already. The final decision rests with the Scottish government.

They say, "If you haven't heard of Coul Links before, it's one of the last undeveloped dune systems of its kind in Scotland and an important wildlife haven on the east Sutherland coast.
It's so important that it's protected at national, European and international levels."

I will be opposing this whatever the possible benefits for the local economy. There are more than enough golf courses in Scotland and plenty world class links already.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

But yet in the link SEPA and Scotland Natural Heritage have no objections bar one regarding a path.

We’ll wait and see.

 

[patricks148]

But yet in the link SEPA and Scotland Natural Heritage have no objections bar one regarding a path.

We’ll wait and see.

They did both object when it was first proposed, but SEPA have with drawn its Objection and SNH were consulting as far as i know, no new evidence as such so very strange that SEPH have, Maybe just think they will be ridden roughshod over the same as Trump Aberdeen, which was a full blown SSI.

 

[KenL]

RSPB say
"The impacts of this planning application are so significant that we have formed a partnership with Buglife, Butterfly Conservation Scotland, Plantlife Scotland, the Marine Conservation Society, the National Trust for Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust to campaign against these proposals. "

 

[Tommo21]

I just cant see that area being able to support another golf course.